Bilawal fumes at Sindh govt for its slow post-flood efforts

Our Correspondent
KARACHI: Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday gave vent to his ire over the slow pace of post-flood relief efforts by the Sindh government.
The PPP chairman whose party is ruling in Sindh called an emergency meeting in this regard today and got a briefing from the chief minister at CM House.
Bilawal Bhutto presided over the meeting which reviewed the flood situation and relief work in the province.
Bilawal said that since winter was set in in the rural areas, therefore it was necessary to expedite the relief efforts. He said he wanted to know about the assistance provided to the flood-hit people so far by the NPDMA and the Sindh government.
While giving briefing, the chief minister informed the meeting participants that 12.35 million people were affected by floods. He said 2,992 relief camps were set up for the victims. As many as 7.38 million people were made homeless by the deluges. 673,353 people were kept in the relief camps.
The chief minister informed that 791,933 tents, 588,569 tarpaulins, 3.71 million mosquito nets, 2.2 tons of ration bags and 1.13 million blankets were given to the affectees.
CM Shah said that the province suffered a financial loss to the tune of Rs2,444 billion or $11.376 billion due to floods in the province.
The calamitous floods damaged the housing sector, education, irrigation, water and drainage, livestock, roads and other sectors, he added.
He said that the province needed Rs48.4 billion for flood control and irrigation, Rs22 billion for rehabilitation of roads, Rs11 billion for water supply and drainage, and Rs16.5 billion for livestock.
The Sindh chief minister said Rs9.9 billion were required to expand Rescue 1122, Rs110 billion for building houses, Rs24.2 billion for the improvement of water supply and agriculture, Rs42 billion for the construction of roads and bridges, and Rs94.6 billion were needed for health and social protection.
CM Shah informed the meeting that the donor agencies had pledged Rs379.56 billion for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto directed the chief minister to drain the stagnant water if there was any in the flood-affected areas.
He also instructed the CM to expedite work on the house construction plan after finalizing it. He goaded the provincial government on the prompt supply of seeds and fertilizers to farmers.
The meeting was also attended by Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Works and Services Minister Zia Abbas Shah, Agriculture Advisor Manzoor Hussain Wasan, Sindh chief secretary, PDMA DG, irrigation and agriculture secretaries, and other government officials.